An unattractive electric

An unattractive electric cabinet turned artwork Les Carrés Saint Louis, market huts turned historic tiny houses through the windows in golden shafts as the choir practised, causing me to lose track of time. A market is held in the square in front of the cathedral. Take a few steps to the crossroads of rue Royale and rue d’Anjou to discover a charming hidden part of Versailles, Carrés Saint Louis, where small huts were built, meant to host a market in the 1700s. They were converted into possibly the first ‘tiny houses’ within 20 years, and these listed historic monuments are still lived in. On the other side of town, in the Notre Dame district, the church of Notre-Dame is equally Musée Lambinet, a time warp townhouse Notre-Dame market was laid out in a square formation in 1725, and each corner stone pavilions are like covered markets in their own right impressive. Close to the fabulous market of Notre-Dame, on the same site for over 400 years, is the second-largest market in France, and one of the best. If the Château is the crown of Versailles, then this market is its beating heart. Pop outside the market square to the Boulangerie Guignon - a legend with the locals for their exquisite cakes. And don’t miss the antique quarter, which features quaint shops and cosy cafés on cobbled lanes. If you’re even vaguely curious about old keys, art deco brooches, or seventeenth-century soup tureens, you’ll lose hours here. A stone’s throw away, the uncrowded Musée Lambinet is an 18th-century townhouseturned-museum that feels more like stepping into a collector’s attic than a formal gallery. Dedicated to the art and history of Versailles and the French Revolution, this exquisite time capsule mansion houses a collection of paintings, antique furniture (including a rare harp thought to be owned by Louis XV’s daughter, which is played twice a month for a free concert), curious little objets d’art including an extraordinary set of painted buttons, and even a lovingly recreated apartment from the 1700s. And one last thing. You can’t fail to spot the street art wherever you go in Versailles. The city has two professional schools of painting and décor, which specialise in training students for theatre and TV. The Mayor encouraged them to decorate the city’s urban 22 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 23